by T. L Smith
“Speaking of Isabelle, are you ready for tomorrow?”
Liam groans turning to me. His hands pull at my waist so I slam into him. “If I have to wear pink, I’m not going.”
I laugh at him. “She wants to wear your color anyway.”
“Good.” He looks past me. “You don’t think it’s serious?” he asks.
I shake my head. “I think it’s the most serious he’s been with a girl, but I don’t think it’s what she’s hoping for. She’s smitten with him.” He nods his head. “She’s coming for Christmas, too.”
“What happened to just us and family?”
“My mother will still be away on her cruise.”
“There is a god.”
I hit him in the chest while laughing. She can be too much sometimes. We’re close now, but Liam sometimes can’t handle her.
“Be nice tonight, all right? It’s you he wants approval from. No one else.”
Jake and Addy walk in. Liam rolls his eyes and lets me go.
“Who’s the pixie Isabelle’s currently talking to?” Jake asks.
Liam laughs as I groan while heading off to rescue Miranda from Isabelle. No one is good enough for Hayden. Hayden to Isabelle—he’s almost superhero status.
9
Black
“It’s too tight.” Groaning, I pull at the tie. Rose fusses with it to make it looser. Then distracts me when her hands drop lower and cups my cock.
“If you’re a good boy you might get a treat when you get home.” She winks, and I stare.
“Did you just talk to me as if I were a dog?” Her hand drops and her eyes widen. “I’m just going to have to fuck you like one in that case,” I say, grabbing her and spinning her around slapping her ass. She laughs and stands up, pulling her dress down which has risen up.
“She’s nervous. Be good. Please.”
I kiss her lips. “I’m always good.”
Isabelle opens the door. These kids really need to learn to stop doing that. Boundaries need to be taught. Several times they’ve caught us, but that doesn’t seem to deter them from barging in.
“Gross. Dad, you ready?”
She looks beautiful. Much like her mother. Her long blonde hair cascades down in curls over her sparkling black dress. She has on heels that make her come up to my shoulder in height.
“You look as beautiful as your mother.” Her cheeks blush. “You always do, but tonight you remind me of her even more so. You just don’t have a red dress on.”
Rose grips my hip, remembering that night many years ago when I found her again and she was dressed in red. She is, and always will be, the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen.
“Thanks, Dad.” She falls into my chest, hugging me tightly. Rose is crying behind me. She pulls at Isabelle and hugs her daughter. They’ve come a long way from where they started.
“Where’s my girls at,” Jake’s voice booms through the house.
Rose lets go of Isabelle as Jake steals her.
“Don’t scare all the boys, okay?” Rose whispers to me as she reaches up, her lips touching mine. I want to take her right now, have my way with her. She stopped me from doing what I need to do for the last few days.
“I’ll do my best.”
She rolls her eyes at me.
“You can go, Dad. I’m going to hang with Sebastian.”
I’ve been here for two hours and counting. There are only so many times you can dance when you don’t know how to fucking dance. My eyes scan the room until they land on Sebastian. As soon as I find him his eyes avert to the floor.
“Stop it,” Isabelle says nudging me with her arm.
“Your mother wants you home by eleven. Don’t be late. Or Sebastian may lose an arm.” Isabelle doesn’t take my threats seriously, she just waves at me as she walks away over to the blond-haired punk of a kid.
Tearing my tie off as I go, a mother who was in there chaperoning stops me. Her hand touches my arm, squeezing. My eyes follow her hand then they track up to the lady whose hand is still currently on me.
“Oh, sorry.” She drops her hand, fast. It touches her sides as she looks at me. “I’m Sebastian’s mother, I just wanted to introduce myself properly. I see your daughter has a thing for him.”
Her words are full of shit. She doesn’t know Isabelle and who she has a thing for. Knowing Isabelle, this will last a month tops before she moves on. She’s happy to do that, leave hearts broken in her wake. Which doesn’t bother me at all. As long as she’s safe.
“Okay, so I’m Alana. I know the kids are on Christmas break now, but I was wondering if it would be okay to maybe have a meet-up. They seem to be getting pretty serious. Your daughter is quite the little hussy, isn’t she?”
I look back to my truck, it’s begging for me to leave and not speak to this woman. She leans into me. Her hand touches my shoulder like that’s any better than touching my arm without my permission. Shrugging she drops it, smiles softly and looks down.
“You don’t talk much, do you?” She steps in closer to me. Now her body is directly in front of mine. “Must be hard raising a teenage girl all by yourself.” She goes to touch me again, but I step back because hitting a woman is not what I do.
Killing them?
Fuck!
No, I don’t do that either.
“I’m not by myself. Now, excuse me.”
She steps in front of me, stopping me from going any further. I try to sidestep her, but this bitch is determined. And is now pissing me right off.
“I’ll need your number, you know… to have that meet-up.”
I shake my head.
“I’m sure your child has Isabelle’s number.”
Her head drops to the side like she’s assessing me. I manage to step around her before she can step in my way again, and slide into the truck. Looking back through the rearview mirror as I drive off, I see her watching me. And I wonder how many other men she has tried to get her claws into.
Before I go home, I’m turning the wheel, taking myself to a place I know I should be. A place where a man should not still be breathing.
Cunner’s seated precisely where he was last time in his wingback chair. This time though, he isn’t watching television. He’s pulling shoes on, then knots his tie as he gets ready. I watch him as he walks to his car, the BMW that proves he has more money than brains. I stay far back behind him as he drives off, and follow him all the way to a bar not too far from the first one I saw him at. My cell starts ringing as he walks through the door. He doesn’t check his surroundings, he’s not worried about anything. I’m not sure if that makes me even angrier, considering the kind of scum he is. He should be healing, after all, he is a damn doctor, but people must be wearing rose-colored glasses.
My cell stops and rings again.
Rose’s name flashes on the screen. Putting the cell phone to my ear, she speaks without any words from me. “You left the dance an hour ago. Where are you?” My eyes follow Cunner as he walks into the bar. I watch him nod his head to the man sitting next to him through the window.
“I’m driving home now.”
“Liam…”
“I’ll see you soon.” Hanging up the phone, it’s now two nights where I’ve left him breathing.
The next time… he won’t be so lucky.
10
Rose
Liam’s tie is removed and bunched up in his hand as he walks in the door. His eyes are green and strong as they watch me.
“Isabelle called, told me you spoke to Sebastian’s mother and said it was fine for her to go home with them?”
“I did no such thing.”
“I know, that’s why I asked for her to come straight home. She should be here any second.”
Liam starts removing his jacket. And I have to contain my instincts to touch him. To be with him. He was out longer than he should have been. Usually, that wouldn’t worry me. But I know Black, know him better than almost anyone on this planet. And something’s been off, I can feel it. He’s
hiding something, it may not be big, except Black never hides anything from me. Ever.
“Now where were you, Liam?”
“Took a drive.”
That’s a half-truth, I can feel it. He definitely isn’t telling me something.
“If you’re not going to tell me the truth, it’s best you sleep on the couch.”
He steps toward me, and I step back, so his hands can’t touch me. But he’s too fast. His hands clasp on my back pulling me to him.
“I’ll sleep with you because what I said is the truth. I was out in my car the whole time.” His chest is in my face. Looking up to his eyes, green as the winter paddocks, they stare back at me with such intensity that I almost have to look away.
“You were in your car, the whole time?”
He nods his head.
Confirmation.
My heart settles as I fall into his embrace.
“And I take it you met Alana, Sebastian’s mother?” I ask him, remembering the way Jake described her as a leech, and I laugh.
“You’ve met her?” he asks.
“Jake has,” I answer as he smirks.
“I bet that would have been interesting.” His hands start moving down my back until he reaches my ass. He picks me up, my legs wrap around him automatically. The front door opens and Isabelle walks in. I point to her room and she rolls her eyes. Liam carries me all the way to the bedroom. And I let him do whatever it is he wants to me, for the Christmas spirit and all. Let’s face it, I am a giver.
I invited Sebastian’s mother around. She actually insisted on coming over and discussing our children. Liam tried to get out of it. Insisted he needed to be elsewhere. That isn’t happening, he isn’t leaving me by myself to deal with meeting the parents of Isabelle’s boyfriend. The knock comes on the door as Liam sits down at the table, placing the bread rolls in the middle. Isabelle beats me to the door, and I smile as Sebastian greets us, along with his mother. She’s dressed in a short pink shirt, her belly and boobs out on display. I try to not stare. Really. Or even judge. She can wear what she wants, who am I to tell her otherwise.
“Thanks so much for having us, I figured it was time we all met.”
I nod, but she kind of insisted on it. Didn’t really give me a chance to say no. She steps into the house without me even saying she can. Looking around, her eyes land on Liam, and she stops. She offers him a small wave before she walks over to him and sits right next to him. He looks at her like she has a second head, her hand touches his shoulder, and I see the restraint he’s holding onto by telling her not to touch him. Liam Black doesn’t like to be touched, especially by those he doesn’t know.
“Alana, isn’t it?” I ask while shutting the door and then walking over to her. She looks at me, her smile as fake as her tits. She sits back, removing her hand from Liam’s shoulder.
“Yes, and you’re Lily?”
Liam looks up, waiting to see what I say.
“Rose.”
“Oh, that’s right. I knew it was a flower of some sort.”
Liam coughs next to her, knowing full well she knew my name.
“So, you wanted to talk about our kids?”
Alana looks back to Liam, smiles then gazes back at me. “Yes, your daughter is quite the little man stealer. She has my Sebastian wrapped around her finger.”
Liam looks past me, and I know the kids just walked in. Turning, I smile to Isabelle.
“Food’s ready, how about you two go and grab it.”
Isabelle nods, pulling a clueless Sebastian with her.
“I’m going to be straight with you, Alana. Okay?”
She nods her head, sits back and smiles at Liam again. Her hand goes to touch his shoulder, but he manages to move just in time.
“Isabelle won’t be staying at your house. Don’t ask her to again. She isn’t a hussy as you so kindly put it the other night to her father. Who I might add, really doesn’t like you touching him.”
She looks to Liam, then back to me. “I never—” she goes to say but I hold up my hand, stopping her. Isabelle told me how Alana told her to lie to me and say she’d be at a friend’s house. Liam told me about her and her words, and the way she attempted to get close to him. Before she can finish her sentence, the kids walk out.
Sebastian seems like a good kid. Despite his mother.
“Is your father around?” I ask Sebastian as he sits. He looks to his mother who crosses her arms over chest.
“Yes, but I don’t allow him to see him,” she replies for her son.
“Oh.”
“He’s a doctor and not a very good one. He should be fired.” Sebastian doesn’t say a word, just looks down to his plate as Isabelle serves him. “I’m not even sure how he has a license or what I saw in him,” she continues on.
“What’s your surname?” Liam asks Sebastian, who straightens in his chair at the voice of Liam.
“Cunner, sir,” Sebastian answers.
I look to Liam who’s suddenly gone very quiet. Placing my hand on his leg he matches mine with his. Hayden walks in, looks around the table and sits.
Alana who doesn’t know any better leans over to him and introduces herself.
Throwing her out of my house wouldn’t be acceptable, so I bite my lip in an attempt to stop myself. Thankfully my boys know better. Hayden doesn’t speak to Alana, only offers a small smile before he looks to Sebastian. Liam drops my hand and gets up. His lips touch my neck and before I can say anything, he has his keys and he’s gone.
Leaving us sitting there wondering why he left.
11
Black
I can’t wait a day longer, it has to happen now. He’s snuck into my life like a snake slithers into a hole. And what do you do with an unwanted guest? You remove it. He’s exactly where I left him, sitting at the bar. By himself. The good doctor must be well and truly intoxicated by now. My hands grip the steering wheel and my heart accelerates as I watch him finally walk out. Excitement fills me, need fills me even more. The thing you were born to do shouldn’t be a crime, right? I was born to do this. That was proven a long time ago when I took my first life.
Following him back to his place, I don’t stay in my truck this time, and I’ve parked where no one can see me. My boots hit the asphalt and my hand squeezes tightly on the gun in my hand.
It used to be easy.
I didn’t have to think about what I was going to do.
I just did it.
Now it’s a game of cat and mouse, one where the cat cannot be caught. The consequences of being caught are too dire. No, this must be a killing that leaves absolutely no trace of me. At all.
He’s back in that seat, the wingback chair I’ve seen him in several times before. The television flicks on. Porn. Young men displayed in disgusting positions on his television. Walking to his door, I test it and it’s unlocked. Easy to get in. Easier than I anticipated. No force will be necessary… yet.
His walls are white. Sterile. Empty. No pictures are hanging. No love is felt in this house. It’s cold. Barren. Depressing.
He has a child, why does it feel as if he has none.
The entrance to the main room where he’s seated is wide open.
My hand grips the gun in hand, he hasn’t noticed I’m there, standing at the main entrance watching him. He hasn’t even felt my presence. With the flick of my wrist the light next to me flicks off and he moves turning fast in his chair. The asshole starts scrambling to his feet. He can’t see me clearly, but he knows someone is there. Just has no idea who.
“You’re in the wrong house, take what you want and leave.”
I make no move to steal or leave. He’s now standing, his face erratic, his eyes searching for something, possibly a weapon. It won’t help. I’ll kill him before he even touches it.
“Leave.” Cunner’s hand touches something next to him, the lights flick back on and now he can see me. He takes a step back, his head shaking back and forth. “I did nothing to that boy, didn’t touch him.” T
hose words leaving his mouth make my blood boil. I want to kill him again, and again, and once more for good measure. Even the thought of him going anywhere near my son makes me fill with rage. My cell starts ringing in my pocket, I know it’s Rose without even looking at it. That doesn’t mean I have to answer it. No. This time I won’t be interrupted. This time I will finish what I started.
“The police will be here soon, I have alarms.”
“It’ll be quick.”
“You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to go down this path. We all make mistakes.” He thinks his words will persuade me otherwise. If I were a laughing man, I would do exactly that. Literally. But I’m not, so I give him no reply. My feet are heavy as I step closer to him. I want to look into his eyes as he takes his last breath, I want him to know that I’m the one stealing it from him. Then I want to watch as he’s delivered to the same hell I will be visiting one day for all my misdeeds.
It takes a moment, and that moment is slow. My pulse quickens, but the world around me goes dead silent. It’s a beautiful chaos. It’s what I crave.
No one can take these moments from me, no matter how hard they try. It’s next to impossible. The only thing that compares to this is her. Rose.
She’s my favorite drug of choice. Even over this. Even over the silence of knowing I am playing God.
With one slip of my finger, I’m about to take away his life. And not once will I stop to think about why I did it. I will watch the life go from him. And I will walk out and have no problems sleeping at night.
Maybe I am the monster they tell me I am.
Maybe I can never change.
It won’t stop me though, from what I’m about to do. What’s about to happen.
The blood splatters behind him on the wall. It’s a clean shot to the head. More than he deserves, but if he’s right about the police, I need to move fast. Walking over to him, careful not to step in the blood that’s now pooling at his head, I watch as his eyes, still open, lose the life that was left in them.
